


Never Tear Us Apart

by laykay



Category: Everything Sucks (TV)
Genre: F/F, Kate is a senior and Emaline is a college freshman, Long Distance Relationship, pretty much everyone else is there too but only as minor characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-03-29 07:43:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13922541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laykay/pseuds/laykay
Summary: After Emaline graduates and leaves Boring behind for New York, she and Kate try to keep their relationship going long distance.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I mentioned this storyline on my tumblr (reallytinylaura) a few days ago and finally got around to writing it.

Kate laid in Emaline’s bed, turned on her side to face away from her girlfriend, doing her best to pretend she’d fallen asleep even though her eyes were open.  She didn’t want it to be like this, she didn’t want to spend her last night with her not speaking.

She couldn’t help it though, Emaline was leaving for New York in seven hours and as she looked at the large red numbers of the digital clock next to the bed, she watched the minutes tick by.  She didn’t want to face it, she wanted time to stop. They had six hours and fifty-two minutes left and they’d planned to spend it holding each other, falling asleep in each other’s arms after some tears.  Instead they had this.

They had both of them laying awake, silence in between them as Emaline looked at Kate’s back.

“Hey,” Emaline said, poking Kate’s side.  “I know you’re not asleep.”

Kate swallowed hard, not looking at her.  “You should be.”

“I’d rather talk to you.  It’s a long flight, I can sleep on the plane.”  She sighed when Kate didn’t respond.  “Sweetie, come on.  Talk to me.”  She put her hand against Kate’s arm, her thumb moving across the skin near the crook of her elbow before giving her arm a gentle tug.

Kate fell onto her back, looking up at the ceiling.  Emaline was going NYU, her dream school and Kate couldn’t be mad at her for going but she counted the day she received her acceptance letter as one of the worst days of her life.

“It’ll be winter break before you know it,” Emaline said softly.  “I’ll call and write.  You won’t even have time to miss me.”

“I doubt that,” Kate mumbled.

“Got you to talk,” Emaline whispered with a grin.  She slid her hand off of Kate’s arm and to her stomach, curling her fist to grip the thin t-shirt.  She shifted to kiss Kate’s cheek, “I love you,” she whispered before moving back to her place.  “If anyone can handle long distance, it’s us.  We’ll find a way to make it work.”

Kate shifted her eyes to look at her girlfriend, they both knew the exact statistics for long distance couples, thanks to McQuaid.  “What if you meet someone?” Kate whispered, finally voicing the fear that had been eating at her for months.

“I’m sure I’ll meet a lot of people,” Emaline said with a grin.  “New York is a big city.  None of them would be you though.  And, you know, I could ask you the same question.  You could meet some amazing girl who sweeps you off your feet.”

Kate scoffed. “Be serious.”

“I’m being completely serious.  There are so many girls who would love a chance with you.”

Kate rolled her eyes.  “Name one.”

“Well, I’m not gonna give you ideas.”  Emaline smiled as Kate turned her head to look at her.  “I can tell you she won’t be completely insane.  How am I supposed to compete with sanity?”

“You’re not insane.”

“No, I am crazy,” she said, grinning.  “About you.”

Kate laughed.  “I can’t believe you actually just said that.”  She shook her head, turning onto her side to fully face Emaline.  “Winter seems so far away.”

“Five months,” Emaline sighed.  “Want to get a head start on making up for lost time?” she asked, biting her lip.

“What?” Kate asked before she was silenced by her girlfriend’s lips.  “Oh,” she whispered, laughing softly against her lips, putting a hand against Emaline’s waist to pull her closer.

 

* * *

 

Kate walked next to Emaline and her parents through the airport, stopping at the gate for her flight.  Emaline sighed when an announcement was made over the PA that her flight was going to begin boarding.  She hugged both of her parents before turning to Kate and hugged her tightly.

“I’ll call as soon as I get there,” she whispered.

Kate nodded silently, not sure if she could talk without crying.

Emaline pulled back to look at her, recognizing the look in her girlfriend’s eyes and shook her head.  “Don’t,” she said.  “Don’t cry.  If you cry, I’m gonna cry.”

“I’m not crying,” Kate said, her voice cracking.

Emaline shook her head, exhaling quickly.  She took off her backpack and dug through the items she’d packed for the trip, pulling out a VHS tape and handing it to Kate. 

“What’s this?” she asked, turning the unlabeled tape over in her hands.

“Just watch it when you get home, okay?” Kate nodded, Emaline hugged her again, pressing a quick kiss to her lips.  “I have to go.”

She waved as she walked backwards towards the line of people waiting to board the plane, closing her eyes as she turned away from them to take her place in line.  She locked eyes with Kate as she moved towards the door to the airplane.

“I love you,” she mouthed.

Kate mouthed the words back before Emaline handed her ticket to the woman standing near the door, then disappeared into the boarding tunnel.  Blinking rapidly as she tried to fight back tears, Kate moved to the large window facing the runway, watching until the jet took off.

 

* * *

 

 

“I’m home,” Kate called as she walked into her house, clutching Emaline’s tape.  

Her father walked out of the kitchen, going to his daughter to hug her tightly.  “Did she get off alright?”  Kate nodded.  “Are you hungry?  Sherry’s making spaghetti.”

Kate shook her head even though she loved her step-mother's cooking.  “I think I’m just gonna go upstairs and wait for Em to call.”

“It’s a five hour flight, sweetheart,” Ken told her gently.

“I’m really not hungry,” she told him before she moved towards the stairs.  The room across the hall from hers, Luke’s room, was empty so she turned into her room and closed the door.  She turned on her television and pushed the tape into her VCR, pressing play before she sat on her bed.

“Hey, Kate,” Emaline said, appearing on her screen, sitting on her bed.  “If you’re watching this, it means I somehow left you and got on the plane and I’m either on my way to New York or I’m in New York.  I wanted to make this video for you so that when you miss me, which I hope will be often, you can watch this and be a little less lonely.  Although, missing me and being lonely would mean you aren’t enjoying yourself and I never want you to be sad, I never want to be the cause of your sadness.”

Emaline shook her head.  “I guess we could just talk on the phone like normal people and I promise we will but that would mean denying you this face," she said with a laugh.  "Besides, one thing we’ve never been is normal and I like that about us.  You know I’m not very good at just speaking from the heart, I don't really know what to say."  She smiled, laughing softly to herself.  "My dear Juliet, thou doth teach the torches to burn bright.”

Kate rolled her eyes, laughing as she shook her head.  “Dork,” she muttered.

“I know, I’m a dork,” Emaline continued on tape, as if she was responding to Kate’s comment.  “I’m a dork who quotes Shakespeare. But I’m your dork.  I’m a dork you loves you.  Another reason for this tape, because when I’m a shitty girlfriend you can watch this and remember that even if I forget to call one night or if I say something stupid to make you mad, I love you.”  She paused, smiling at the camera.  “I’m just going to pretend you said you love me too when I took that pause.”  She looked away from the camera, frowning.  “Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say night till it be morrow.  Talk to you soon.”

Emaline sighed then stood, walking towards the camera and turning it off.  Kate sighed as static filled her screen, a tear falling from her eye.  She wiped her eyes quickly then set up her tripod to face her bed, loading a new tape into the camera before she pressed record and sat on her bed. 

“You’re quoting from Romeo and Juliet, does that make us both Juliet?” she asked.  “I don’t want either of us to be Juliet or Romeo.  That ended horribly.” She paused, thinking for a moment.  “Does Shakespeare even have happy endings?  He’s kind of a dick.”  She smiled then shook her head.  “I already miss you and you just left.  I really don’t want to hate NYU because I know it’s your dream but I kind of do and I feel like I ruined your last day here by being a total immature bitch and I’m sorry.  You're gonna be great, you were made for New York."  She sniffled quickly, tears starting to fall from her eyes.  "I guess you can use this tape for the same reasons I have mine, though I really doubt you’ll get bored or lonely in New York.  You’ll have your classes and you’re gonna be in plays and you’re gonna be too busy to even start missing me.  I love you.”


	2. Chapter 2

Kate sighed as she walked down the stairs of her house, still wearing her pajamas.  She wasn’t planning on leaving the house that day, her last day of summer vacation before her senior year, so she didn’t bother getting dressed.

She walked into the kitchen, where Sherry was making breakfast.  Kate opened a cabinet, pulling out a box of cereal before moving silently to the refrigerator to get milk.

“I can make you some pancakes,” Sherry offered.

Kate shook her head, holding up the cereal box silently before pouring it into a bowl.  She returned everything to its place, slamming doors a bit harder than she intended before sitting at the table with her bowl and a spoon, resting her head in one hand.

Sherry glanced at her and let out a quick chuckle.  “I’d ask you how you slept but I think I already know the answer.”

Kate raised her eyes to look at her.  “This is gonna sound stupid but my bed’s too big.”  She blinked, freezing as she looked at Sherry when she realized she’d just admitted to having Emaline in her bed, a rule her father made after they told him about their relationship.  “I… I mean… not that anyone else is normally in my bed with me,” she said quickly.  “I sleep alone, obviously.”

Sherry smiled at her.  “Sweetie, do you really think we don’t know that Emaline would sneak in through your window almost every night?”  She clicked her tongue, shaking her head.  “You’re really not as sneaky as you think.  And we also know where you really are every weekend when you go to have sleepovers with the girls.”

Kate felt herself turn red as she looked down at her hands.

“We’ve all been young and in love once,” Sherry told her with a smile.  She suddenly gasped sharply, making Kate jump as she put one hand against her pregnant belly.

“Are you okay?” Kate asked anxiously.

Sherry smiled, shaking her head dismissively.  “She’s just kicking.  Your little sister is going to be one hell of a soccer player.”   

Kate smiled as Sherry put her pancakes onto a plate.  “Four more months.  Are you guys ready?”

“We’ve both already done this before, so I think we can handle it.”  She smiled as she sat down across from Kate.  “Not to mention, we have two built-in babysitters,” she said, putting her hand against Kate’s arm.

“Oh, I’m busy,” Kate told her.  “Every day, for the next fourteen to eighteen years.”

Sherry laughed, shaking her head once.  “I do know what you mean about the bed being too big.  You get used to it though.”

 

* * *

  

When the phone in Kate’s room rang, she rolled off of her bed as she dove to answer, scrambling to the phone before she managed to answer on the third ring.

“Hey you,” Emaline said.  “Did I hear you fall?”

“Nope,” Kate told her.  “Nope.  I definitely did not just face plant.  I’m good.”

“Okay,” Emaline said slowly, laughing softly.  “Anyway, guess what I saw on the subway?”

Kate frowned as she climbed back onto her bed.  “A giant rat?”

“No.”  Emaline paused.  “Well, yes.  But that’s not what I wanted to tell you.  I saw two guys holding hands.  I wanted to hug them.”

“What?” Kate said.  “Why were they holding hands?  You really shouldn’t hug strangers on a subway, Em.”

Emaline sighed loudly on the other line.  “Did you hit your head when you fell?  Babe, they’re dating and they were just completely casual in public, it was no big deal.  No one cared.”

“We hold hands,” Kate said, slightly defensive.

“Yeah, if we left town.  The only time we could act like an actual couple was if we went to Portland for some reason and even then you'd only kiss me if no one was looking in our general direction.”

“Sorry,” Kate muttered, her stomach sinking.  “I’m not… I wasn’t…”

“Hey.  Hey, stop,” Emaline said as Kate stuttered over an apology.  “I’m not mad, I get it.  I promise, I don't blame you.  If anyone, I blame that stupid town. I just wanted to talk to you about it… I think you’d like it here.”

“How could I not?” Kate smiled.  “It’s where you are.”

“Do you… I mean, you never really said where you were thinking of going to college and I don’t want to seem like I’m making this decision for you because you let me make mine even though I knew it was hard for you.”

“Honestly, I never really gave it much thought.  Until my dad met Sherry I never thought I’d be able to leave him, I just figured I’d go to a state school and live at home.”

“Well, now he’s got Sherry and the baby on the way.  We could go on walks through Central Park, maybe catch some shows on Broadway, spend New Years Eve in Times Square watching the ball drop with thousands of strangers.”  She laughed softly.  “Think about it.  New York City, just you and me.”

“No,” Kate said instantly. 

“Oh,” Emaline muttered.

“No, not no I don’t want to.  I mean, no I don’t need to think about.  Yes, I want to be there with you.”

“Really?” Kate could almost hear Emaline smile.

“Really.  Yes, absolutely.”

 

* * *

 

 

Kate turned on all the lights in her bedroom then looked into her camera, as she sat on her bed.  "It's past midnight, the first day of school is tomorrow and I can't sleep.  I want to call you and hear your voice but it's like 3am there so I hope you're asleep.  Unless you're up thinking about me too."  She chuckled.  "I hope you're not though because you have a morning class, missy," she said trying to sound stern but laughing as she spoke. "All I can think about is us in New York.  It's months away but then it's like... forever."  She laughed, pushing her hair back with one hand.  "Until a couple years ago, I didn't really believe that two people could have a forever.  That it could be just me and one other person, someone who I would rely on and who relies on me.  In my experience, forever wasn't real.  It was something people promised but then... it disappeared, for whatever reason.  And then I met you.  You scared me.  Terrified me, actually," she admitted with a laugh.  "You were this girl who seemed bigger than life, untouchable.  You were so hot and I was so awkward... well, you're still hot and I'm still awkward but that's not the point.  And then I saw you, the real you, and you were still scary but in a completely different way.  You were..."  Kate was cut off by a knock on her door.  "Yeah?" she asked, looking up as her father opened the door.

"It's a school night, kiddo," Ken told her, sounding tired.  "Big day tomorrow, senior year."

Kate nodded.  "I know. I'm almost done."

"Right," he said, nodding.  "I better not hear about you falling asleep in class."

"I won't."  She looked from her father to her camera then back to her father. "The longer you stand there and tell me to go to sleep, the longer it's going to take me to actually go to sleep."

"Okay, okay," Ken said.  "Just wrap it up soon, alright?"

"Just a couple more minutes," she assured him.

He nodded.  "Okay.  Night, sweetie."

"Night," she said as he closed her door again before she turned back to the camera.  "Where was I?" she muttered to herself.  "I think I was calling you scary.  You scared me because you made me want forever.  I think we're what people call young and stupid, blinded by love.  Maybe we are.  Maybe forever doesn't exist, I don't know.  But I want to find out with you." 

 


	3. Chapter 3

“What’s stuck up your butt?”

Kate looked up from her lunch to McQuaid, who was looking at her with his eyebrows raised.  “Excuse me?”

“You’ve hardly said anything all day.”

She shrugged, shaking her head.  “And?”

“She’s tired,” Luke said, not looking up from his lunch, poking the meat on his tray with a spork.  “She was up all night making a video for Emaline.”

Tyler looked up, suddenly interested in the conversation.  “A dirty video?”

“What?”  Kate shook her head.  “Why would I tell you if it was?”

McQuaid looked at Tyler.  “She’s not denying it.”

Tyler grinned.  “I wonder if she has a video of Emaline.”  He looked at Luke.  “Can you look in her bedroom for it?”  Luke nodded, Kate groaned.

“Stop!  I can hear you,” she told them.  “It’s no wonder you guys have never had a girlfriend.”

“I did,” Luke volunteered.

“I don’t count,” Kate said.

“Why not?  We dated.”

“Dude, you might not want to talk about dating your sister so loudly,” McQuaid told him in a low voice.

“ _Step_ sister,” Luke stressed.

“That really doesn’t make it any better.”

Kate rolled her eyes.  “It doesn’t matter, but fine, we dated for a week and a half.  I’ve been in a relationship for almost two years, remember?”

“A relationship that’s doomed to fail,” McQuaid told her.  “Forty percent of long distance relationships end within the first five months and only two percent of high school relationships end in marriage, half of all marriages end in divorce.  In your situation, marriage isn’t even possible so the chances of your relationship even surviving the next five years the two of you will be separated for college is less than ten percent.”

“Actually, it’s only going to be about nine more months,” she said.

The boys all looked at Kate, Luke shook his head.  “What’s that mean?”

“It means, when Emaline goes back to New York for school next year, I’m going with her.”

Tyler frowned at her. “People go to New York and never come back.”

“Do Mom and Ken know about this?” Luke asked.

“Not yet,” she muttered.  “I’ll tell them.”

“When?” he pressed.

“Definitely before I leave.”

 

* * *

 

 

Kate sat on her bed, her phone on the mattress in front of her as she waited for it to ring.  Frowning, she looked at her watch then at the alarm clock next to her bed to make sure she had the correct time.  She and Emaline had gotten in the habit of calling at the same time every night, a time that worked for them both with their time zone difference.

It was Emaline’s turn to call and she was fifteen minutes late.  Sighing, Kate picked up her phone to call her, figuring if Emaline was too busy to talk long, they’d at least get to say goodnight to each other but when she started to dial she heard the dial up tone on the line.

“Luke,” she yelled, hanging up her phone again and rushing into his room.  He was sitting at his computer, talking in a chatroom when Kate walked to his desk and started pulling cables out of his wall.

His mouth fell open when his monitor went black.  “Kate, what the hell?” he demanded.  “I was talking to Tyler and McQuaid.”

“Then go down the street and talk to them!  You know six o’clock is my phone time with Emaline.”

“What time is it?”

“6:20,” she told him, her teeth clinched.

He shrugged.  “Sorry.  Hey, you’ll be in New York with her soon enough.  You can survive one night.”

She shook her head.  “Jesus, Luke, you’re my best friend but you’re a really shitty brother.”

“Oh yeah?” he asked, standing up to face her.  “You’re not a very good sister either.  And right now, you’re a horrible best friend.”

“What?”

“All summer it was Emaline this and Emaline that, then she leaves and you’ve been moping around here for weeks.  Even at school, all you can talk about is her.”

“Well, I’m sorry for missing my girlfriend.”

He shook his head.  “I understand that you miss her but, you know, you don’t need to treat the people who are still here like shit.”

“Whoa, whoa, what’s going on in here?” Ken asked as he and Sherry appeared at Luke’s bedroom door.

Kate crossed her arms.  “Luke’s online and I was expecting a call from Emaline.”

“We all agreed, no phone calls and no internet between 6 and 6:30 so Kate and Emaline could talk,” Sherry reminded him.

“I know,” Luke groaned.  “I lost track of time. It’s not the end of the world.”

“I get thirty minutes a day,” Kate started before Luke shook his head.

“Then go call her and stop whining about it,” he said.  “Get out of my room.”  He put a hand on her back and pushed her to the door before closing it.

Kate sighed, rolling her eyes as she walked back across the hall to her room, Ken followed her.  “Do you want to tell me what happened there?” he asked as she sat on her bed.

“I need to call Em,” she said simply.

“She can wait five more minutes.  Did I hear Luke say something about you going to New York?”

She released a breath.  “Yeah.”

He nodded thoughtfully as he sat on the edge of her bed.  “Do you want to tell me about that?”

She sighed softly.  “I’m planning to go to college out there next year so we can live together.”

Ken raised his eyebrows.  “Really?  When did this happen?”

“It’s pretty recent,” she said, shrugging one shoulder.

He nodded again.  “So you haven’t really given it that much thought then?”

“I’ve given it enough.”

“Well, sweetie, you know not to let other people make your choices for you.  You’ve never shown any interest in going to New York before.”

“Because I never had a reason to.  Dad, seriously, it’s almost seven now…”

“Okay, okay,” he told her.  “We’ll talk about this tomorrow.”  He stood up and kissed her head softly.  “Tell Emaline I said hi.”

She nodded as he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.  She picked up her phone, quickly dialing Emaline’s number then holding the phone to her ear as it rang.  Positioning the phone between her head and shoulder, she pulled her wallet out of her back pocket and pulled the credit card Ken had given her for emergencies out of its slot.

“Hello?”

Kate smiled when she heard Emaline’s voice.  “Hey.  Sorry I’m late.”

“Hey.  I tried calling, it was busy.”

“Yeah, I know.  Luke was using the internet.”  She shook her head, looking at the credit card she held, passing it between her fingers.  “So um… would you be up for a visitor this weekend?”

“Do you even have to ask?  Don’t tease me if you can’t.”

“I haven’t checked on flights yet but I’m gonna see if I can get one for Friday after school if that’s okay?”

“Yes!” Emaline laughed on the other line.  “I’ll see you on Friday.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo next chapter's going to be all Kemaline goodness because I already miss them being together. They deserve a whole chapter to themselves and that's what they're getting.


	4. Chapter 4

Kate walked into JFK airport late Friday night, smiling when she saw Emaline waiting at the gate, holding a sign that said, ‘my beautiful, amazing girlfriend’.

“Looking for me?” Kate asked with a grin as she walked over to her, her backpack stuffed with clothes over one shoulder.

“Nope.” Emaline smiled.  “Different girlfriend but you’ll do,” she said, sliding her arms around Kate’s waist, tugging her closer.  “Are you gonna kiss me or what?”

“Won’t your other girlfriend be jealous?”

“She’ll get over it,” Emaline whispered before standing on her tiptoes to kiss Kate.

Kate smiled against her lips, holding her close as they kissed before she leaned her forehead against Emaline’s, squeezing her hand before Emaline pulled away and took Kate’s backpack, putting it over her shoulder.

“How was your flight?” she asked, holding onto Kate’s hand as they walked through the airport.

“Flighty,” Kate said with a shrug.  “I slept most of it.”

Emaline nodded.  “I can’t believe you’re actually here,” she said, her grip on Kate’s hand tightening slightly like she was afraid she might disappear.  “I’m surprised your dad just let you fly across the country for the weekend.  I didn’t think I’d see you until I had a break.”  She looked up at her.  “Not that I’m complaining.”

“You better not be.”  Kate cleared her throat quickly, avoiding the first part of Emaline’s comment.

Emaline kissed Kate’s cheek quickly and led her out of the airport before hailing a cab to take them to her dorm.  She held Kate’s backpack as she took her to her dorm room, unlocking the door and flicking on the light in the empty room.

“That one’s mine,” Emaline told her, pointing to the bed that had the same purple blanket that was on her bed back home.

“I never would have guessed.” Kate grinned as she looked at the other empty bed with a bright pink comforter on it.  She walked to Emaline’s bed and looked at the framed picture on the small bedside table next to her clock, Emaline laughing as she jumped onto Kate’s back.  Luke had snapped the picture of them seconds before they fell over.  “You took this from my room,” she said, holding up the picture.

“It’s my favorite picture of us.  Please tell me you didn’t just realize it was missing.”

“I didn’t know what happened to it.”  Kate shook her head.  “I told you we should’ve had duplicates made.”

“I like that there’s only one.”

“Yeah, you would now that you have it.”  Kate laughed, looking at the rest of Emaline’s half of the room, including the corkboard over her bed.  “You took this one too.”  She unpinned a picture from the board, from Jessica Betts’ Halloween party the previous year, when they’d dressed as Xena and Gabrielle.

Emaline closed the door, walking to her bed to sit next to Kate.  “We need to dig those costumes back out,” she said as she pinned the picture back into its place.

Kate turned her head to look at Emaline, smiling as her girlfriend leaned in to kiss her.  “Wait, where’s your roommate?”

Emaline grinned against Kate’s lips, barely pulling back long enough to speak.  “In Philadelphia with her boyfriend.”

“Well, that’s convenient.”

“I think she’s planning on going a lot.  It’s about a two hour drive.”

Kate smiled sadly, nodding her head.  “Must be nice.”

“Hey,” Emaline took Kate’s hand, scooting over so she was sitting closer to her.  “Just because we can’t see each other every weekend doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy being together when we are together.  It means we should enjoy it more.”

“It just sucks,” Kate muttered, leaning her head against Emaline’s shoulder.  “Of all the places you could have gone, you had to go to New York.”

“It could be worse.  I could have gone to London.”

Kate’s mouth fell open as she sat up straighter to look at her.  “London?  Was that an option?”

“No, not for a second.”  She smiled and shook her head.  “I mean, they do have some amazing drama schools, but I’d never actually go there.  How could I be an entire ocean away from this face?” she whispered, lifting her free hand to Kate’s cheek, moving her thumb against her bottom lip.  “I miss you enough as it is.”

Kate turned her head, kissing Emaline’s palm quickly before her hand dropped away.  “I’m glad you stayed on this continent but for what it’s worth, you would have been great anywhere.”

“It’s easy to be supportive when you don’t actually have to be, huh?” she responded lightly, bumping her shoulder against Kate’s.

Kate frowned, leaning back a bit to look at Emaline.  “You know how proud of you I am, right?   I’m not pretending to be supportive, I am.”

“No, sweetie, I know.  That’s not what I meant and we’ve already talked about this.  If I was you, I would have thrown a huge fit if you told me you were moving to the other side of the country.”  She shook her head.  “You always tell me how amazing I am, you’re the amazing one.  You’ve always been there for me, even when I didn’t deserve it.  I don’t know how you put up with me,” she finished with a shrug.

“I love you,” Kate said simply.  “I don’t just put up with you and never say you don’t deserve something.  Can we just agree that we’re both amazing?”  She laughed softly.  “I don’t want either of us to be sad while I’m here, okay?  It’s only a couple days, can we just enjoy being together?”

Emaline nodded, leaning her forehead against Kate’s.  “I just already know I’m gonna miss you like crazy when you need to leave.”

“So let’s make the most of it, okay?”

Emaline smiled as Kate kissed her.  She shifted back slightly to look at her, raising her eyebrow as she tugged the opened flannel button up Kate wore, pushing it off her shoulders.

 

* * *

 

Kate and Emaline both groaned when her phone rang.  “What the hell?” Kate muttered, her voice thick with sleep as she lifted her head to look out the window.  “It’s still dark.  What time is it?” she asked, burying her face in the crook of her girlfriend’s neck, her arm tightening around her as she spooned behind her.

“Five,” Emaline said with a whine.

“Is somebody dead?”

“Better be.”  She sat up with sigh, smiling at Kate as her hand fell to the bottom of her stomach and began tracing lazy circles on her skin as she leaned over to pick up her phone.  “Stop, that tickles,” she told her, shoving Kate’s hand away.

“I know,” she chuckled in response, kissing the side of her neck softly as her hand moved back to its previous position.

Emaline shook her head.  “You’re bad,” she whispered as she picked up the receiver, holding it to her ear. “Hello?”

“Oh yeah?  I’m not the one who…” she was cut off by Emaline's hand over her mouth, her eyes widened as she listened to the caller on the other line while Kate spoke.  

“Hey, Mr. Messner,” she said, looking pointedly at her girlfriend.  “Is everything okay?”

“Oh my God,” Kate mumbled, moving her hands from around Emaline. 

“Yeah, she’s right here.  She…”  She shook her head at Kate, looking confused as she listened to Ken.  “She did?” she finally asked, her voice small.  She sighed, putting her hand against her forehead.  “Yeah, she’s fine.  Okay, I will.  Right.”  She shifted her eyes to look at Kate then shook her head.  “Yeah, you too.  Bye.”

Emaline hung up the phone then sat up next to Kate, not looking at her.  “Did you run away?”

“Technically,” Kate mumbled.

“You know, I’ve gotten that call in the middle of the night before… someone asking me if I know where their kid is.”

Kate closed her eyes.  “I’m sorry, Em.  I didn’t think…”

“At least I know you’re here, that you’re okay.”  She reached over to take Kate’s hand.  “You know, my parents told me how good of an influence you are on me.  That I’m better because of you,” she said, looking up at Kate to smile at her.  “I guess I had a little bit of an influence on you too, huh?  Goody goody Kate Messner running away from home to see her girlfriend... that’s got me written all over it.  Did something happen?  I mean, why didn’t you tell anyone?

“I had a fight with Luke,” she said softly.  “It was stupid and I missed you and… I just wanted to see you.”  She smiled as Emaline kissed her softly.  “I told you,” she said with a shrug.  “Doesn’t that count?”

“Not technically but I appreciate that you think I should.”  She squeezed her hand softly.  “Do you want to tell me about it?  The Luke thing?”

Kate shook her head.  “Not really.  It was so dumb, I just want to forget about it.  I just want to focus on you and me right now.”

“Okay,” Emaline said, nodding.  “Then let’s put everything else out of our minds,” she suggested, smiling as she kissed Kate deeply.

 

* * *

  

Emaline returned to her dorm room alone after dropping Kate at the airport for her flight back home, she noticed something sticking out from underneath her pillow.  She moved it, smiling when she saw a red zippered sweatshirt folded on her bed with a note folded in the hood.

_It’s going to get cold soon.  Sorry I won’t be there to hold you.  Hopefully this helps.  I love you.  -K_

She smiled as she pulled the sweatshirt on, inhaling the lingering scent of her girlfriend from the inside of the hoodie.  She let the sleeves hang below her hands, laying down on her bed as she hugged the hoodie tight around her.


End file.
